We just got off an Outside Lands press conference call with Kings of Leon singer Nathan Followill, Eugene Hutz of Gogol Bordello and Scott Youklis, head chef at Maverick. They're just excited as we are to eat our hearts out and listen to the good tunes coming our way August 14th and 15th.
Followill promised a "kick ass" show with tons of new material from their forthcoming album (stuff they didn't even play during their headlining stint at Bonnaroo) and joked about not getting any tips from his pal Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam, who headlined a day at last year's Outside Lands.
"We just got to hang with Ed in Seattle a few weeks ago and I think the booze kinda got in the way of any relevant conversation about that," said Followill.
Followill payed homage to the dreary SF weather, which has been the complaint du jour lately. "I just love San Fran in general. It used to be my favorite place to go shopping for thrift store clothes back when I used to dress like an extra from Almost Famous. I love the weather. Oddly enough, I enjoy a cold breeze."
Followill said he and the band are just as excited for the food and wine lineup as they are about the bands they'll share the stage with in two weeks.
"It's gonna be tough for us to balance the music with the food and the wine, but I promise you I will definitely have purple teeth when I take the stage on our night. Hopefully we can all get drunk and fat together while we listen to good tunes."
Gogol Bordello's Hutz, a self-proclaimed wino, was also eager to try out Winelands. "Wine is kind of the drink of the band. We're gonna be in the wine tent."
Maverick's head chef Scott Youklis is entertaining the possibility of serving food-and-wine pairings at next year's festival. "You know, anything's possible," he said. "I don't see why we couldn't pull off a five-course dinner at Outside Lands. It would beat out any festival in the nation."
When I asked him if his new seafood joint Hog & Rocks would ever have an outpost at future Outside Lands festivals, Youklis said it was a good possiblity, but that the restaurant would have to grow up a little first. He'll be serving Maverick's Cincinnati barbecue pulled-pork sandwich at this year's festival.
"We have been nailing it at Hog & Rocks," he admitted. "People are loving the food. Once we're a year old we'll probably get involved. Maybe we'll do a double-sided booth serving barbecue and Hog & Rocks food."
Despite much of the public's groans and moans about this year's festival lineup, Followill has no doubt this weekend in San Francisco will be one to remember. "There's so many awesome bands playing, I'm almost more excited to listen than to play."
